Child rights commission asks DGP to provide status of Pocso cases in state for review

Pune: The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has requested the Director General of Police to provide a status update on cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, across the state, along with reasons for their pendency, commission chairperson Sanjay Puranik said.Based on a thorough review of this information, the commission will soon take a decision in this matter, he added.The review comes in the aftermath of Nasrapur incident last week, wherein a three-year-old girl was raped and murdered by an elderly man, triggering widespread shock and outrage.In 2025, at least 596 Pocso cases related to rape and molestation were registered in Pune city; in just the first three months of 2026, 116 cases related to the same have been registered here.Pune city police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said, "We investigate all cases registered under the Pocso Act with utmost seriousness and our teams strive to do justice. We have observed that in the majority of the cases, minor girls are sexually assaulted by people known to them. In a few cases, strangers have committed the crime. Our officers file charge sheets against the suspects as early as possible. To avert such incidents, we are improving infrastructure of the city with the help of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and issues with CCTV cameras and streetlights. Our teams are also patrolling schools and colleges."But conviction rates for Pocso cases (according to number of criminal cases, not number of victims/survivors) present a grim narrative, coming in at just around 20%. So, around 92% of Pocso cases remained pending for trial at the end of 2023, according to the ‘Crime in Maharashtra' report by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).Activists have blamed the police and judicial system for the delays. Countering them, Puranik said that the commission has initiated several measures to make filing of cases smoother. "These efforts include operationalizing a special child police unit, organizing training programmes to foster child-friendly panchayats, and implementing ‘Manas', a project designed to enhance mental health and self-confidence of schoolgoing children," he said.Yet, how Pocso cases are handled across the country leaves much to be desired. As per information made available by high courts, as of the end of last year, "774 fast-track special courts (FTSCs), including 398 exclusive Pocso (e-POCSO) courts, are functional in 29 states/UTs, with a pendency of 2,24,572 cases relating to offences under the Pocso Act", says the reply by Arjun Meghwal, minister of state (independent charge) of the ministry of law and justice, in response to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha in Feb this year.